“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” – Paulo Coelho

As creatives, we are often thought of as dreamers. We dream of our art being “discovered”. We dream of people clamoring over our work. We dream of a life where we can just create.

The thing is, we are dreamers, but often times, we are not doers.

A little over a year ago, I was a dreamer too. I dreamed that I could help artists get exposure for their work. I dreamed that I could help artists in the subject they are most uncomfortable: marketing. I dreamed that I could have my own podcast and share my thoughts with the world.

I am no longer just a dreamer. I am a doer too. Instead of letting my dreams die, I took action on them. That is the only reason you are reading this. Without action, I would be like many creatives, dreaming my life away.

There is nothing wrong with being a dreamer. In fact, I would argue it is absolutely essential for artists to be dreamers. The problem is, you can’t just be a dreamer. Dreams will get you nowhere without action.

The only thing that separates those who succeed from those who don’t is taking action and not giving up. When I embarked on this adventure, I didn’t have everything planned out.

Often times we want a perfect blueprint of what we should be doing and when we should be doing it. We want someone to tell us exactly what to do without figuring it out for ourselves.

I’ll tell you this, the path to success is not linear. Nothing is ever perfect. If you have been waiting for the perfect formula to bring you success, you will be waiting a very long time.

And that’s a good thing. If life were a formula you could just follow, it would quickly become dull. Life is about the journey, not the destination.

I’ve talked to many creatives and one commonality they all have is their unconventional paths. No one told them what to do. They discovered it on their own.

When we are children, we think the adults have it figured out. We think there is this magical switch that turns on and we’ll know exactly what to do. If you haven’t figured it out yet, that switch doesn’t exist.